Searching for Prince Charming
by Lil' Fizz
Summary: Talkative and ignorant cat Hazel thinks that everything can be done easily with just a little bit of planning. But as she organises a step-by-step guide on how to get a boyfriend, it doesn't go exactly as she thought. Especially when she gets in trouble with her cousin Jinx... A comedy (for once!) about finding The One and how things sometimes aren't as simple as they first seem!
1. Step 1: Make a Plan

**I don't write nearly enough comedy, do I? Nor have I written about Jinx and Ebony's fabulous little cousin Hazel. So I thought I'd combine the two in this hilarious adventure to find Hazel's true Prince Charming.**

 **This story was made for two purposes. Mostly to make fun of myself because I** ** _always_** **put romance in my fanfics, so now I'm going to joke about it! And also because of my three friends who were desperate to be in one off my stories. Special thanks to my G Kieran, who let me make him into a girl!**

Hazel was bored. For a hugely rich cat born into a family of millionaires, she should have been content with her life living in a huge mansion with all the possessions she could wish for. But it was funny how often she got bored.

Her cousin, who had no parents and lived with her brother, having to earn their living even though they were just kids, had a much more exciting time than her. She was forever on adventures, which made Hazel feel blue.

Hazel's cousin was called Jinx, and she lived in the Muppet Theatre, this was where Hazel was headed now. As she wandered down the street, she hoped that there would be _some_ excitement in store.

Well, if Hazel wanted drama, she got it as soon as there was a sudden BOOM, and in a puff of violet smoke, three strange figures appeared.

"Who are you?" Hazel asked.

"We are three witches," the first one said. "I am Morgana…but you can call me Morgan."

"I am Emma," the second one said. "It's not very interesting, I know."

"And I am Keira," the last one said. "The most beautiful one of them all!"

"You are not!" Emma shrieked.

Morgana was blond with sea-green eyes. Emma had long, dark, brown hair and even darker brown eyes. Keira had the same eyes as Emma, but she had bright auburn hair.

"But if you're witches, surely you should be ugly," Hazel said. "Unless we're going by _The Wizard of Oz_ logic, and then that means you're all good witches. I hope you are, because I don't like the idea of bad witches-"

"Shut it!" Morgana cried impatiently. "You talk too much."

"I know," Hazel admitted. "My cousin Jinx says-"

"Enough!" Emma cried. "We have something to tell you!"

She nudged Keira. "What? Oh, yeah. You are a fictional character, aren't you?"

"I think so," Hazel said. "I remember meeting my creator on that journey I went on with my cousins."

"Well we witches have discovered that if you want more screen-time-"

"Screen-time?"

"Yes. You want to be in the spotlight, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Then this is what you must do."

"What?"

"Get a boyfriend."

"What?"

"Do that and everything will turn out just the way you want it."

"You mean I won't be bored anymore?"

"Certainly not."

"Well in that case, I'm on it!"

So as the witches disappeared into another puff of smoke, Hazel sped off to her cousins' theatre at double the speed she was going before.

 **Bit rough around the edges, but I hope you enjoyed. Trust me, the next chapter will be a lot funnier.**


	2. Step 2: Get Advice

"Jinx! Jinx! Jinx! Jinx! Jinx!"

The cat in question sighed and turned slowly to face her bothersome younger cousin.

"What _now_?" she asked irritably.

"You'll never guess what happened!"

"Would I care?"

"So I was walking down the road-"

"Yeah, that's great. Now will you please go?"

"And in a poof of smoke, there were these three witches!"

"Have you been reading Macbeth?"

"Course not, you know I hate Shakespeare."

"Prithee, wil'st thou shutest thy mouth?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"So _any_ way. These witches are all' _Hazel, you must go fourth and_ -"

"What's with the voice?"

Hazel shrugged. "Just to add drama," she said.

Jinx rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, they said that if I wanted more screen-time-"

"Why would you need that? You're hardly a developed character!"

"Yeah, but- wait, what?"

Jinx said nothing, but grinned mischievously.

"So let me get this straight," Jinx said. "You're going to go out and get a boyfriend, just to get screen-time?"

"Yeah. So I need your advice."

"Oh, boy."

"Who should I ask out? You know the Muppets better then I do? Is there anyone seriously dishy?"

Suddenly, Jinx had an ingenious and devious plan.

"Hazel, you don't want to judge a guy on his looks! You see, there's this guy, and he doesn't look like much, but he's seriously cute."

"Really?"

"You bet."

"And he's free?"

Jinx crossed her fingers behind her back.

"Oh, yeah."

"So who is he?"

"You know Kermit, right?"

 **Ooh, you can imagine how that's going to go! See you soon!**


	3. Step 3: Try It Out!

**Sorry I've been gone for SEVEN MILLION YEARS (well maybe not), but I've been working on this story on this other site, called FictionPress. My username's the same, so pleeease check me out! It's an adventure!**

There he was, Kermit the Frog, looking bored as he sifted through a pile of paperwork at least a mile high.

Hazel peered around the edge of the door, silently.

"Is that him?" she whispered to no-one in particular.

No-one replied, because there was no-one else there.

"I guess there's only one way to find out," she replied.

Bounding up to him with an adorable grin on her face, she said: "Hey, you're Kermit, right? The boss of this place?"

"That's me," Kermit replied, not looking up from his paperwork.

"I'm Jinx's cousin," Hazel said. "My name's Hazel."

Kermit did pause then.

"Hazel Nuts," he laughed quietly to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

'Hazel Nuts' was Jinx's mean nickname for her cousin.

"So…you're a frog," Hazel said.

"Yep."

"Can't say I saw that coming."

"No."

"I mean, a frog, running a theatre, that's kind of weird."

"I get that a lot."

"Nah, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You must be kinda powerful, running a place like this."

"I wouldn't say powerful exactly."

"And you're kind of handsome…for a frog."

"Really?" The unimpressed tone was obvious. "Handsome, huh?"

"Yeah, it must be the eyes, you look adorable."

Kermit stopped, and stole a glance at Hazel. She had a dainty grin, big green eyes, and was twisting the feather boa she always wore, around her finger.

"You know, you remind me of someone," Kermit said.

"Oh, yeah?" Hazel seemed interested.

"Yeah."

"This someone…is she – she's a she, right?"

"Oh yeah."

"She important?"

"Yeah."

"Beautiful?"

"Mm-hm."

"Clever?"

"Well…I guess so."

"Kind?"

"…not exactly."

Hazel sighed. "Well, who on Earth could it possibly-?"

"Kermit!" a voice from the door shrieked. "Who is this… person?"

She was a pig. She had blond hair, big, blue eyes, and was dressed all in purple.

Kermit didn't reply. He looked back down at his paperwork, and tried to pretend she wasn't there.

The pig hurried over, shooting Hazel a scowl.

"I am Miss Piggy," she said, announcing her name as if she was the most amazing person in the world (which to her, she was). "Who are you?"

"I'm Hazel," Hazel said, trying not to appear nervous. "You might know my cousin, Jinx?"

"Yuck. That cat's got a cousin as well as a brother? Well, whatever. The point I am here to emphasise is, what are you doing with my frog?"

"Your frog?" Hazel turned to Kermit. "You could've told me you were taken, mate!"

Kermit still said nothing; he just shrugged, not looking up.

Miss Piggy was not amused. "Are you telling me, that you tried to make a move towards my frog?"

"Well it wasn't exactly-"

"HI-YAA!"

Miss Piggy karate chopped Hazel straight in the face.

"Oww!" Hazel shrieked, cupping her nose in one hand, and slowly backing out of the room. "OK, OK, I won't mess with your boyfriend! Sheesh!"

Outside the room, was Jinx, and when she saw Hazel's nosebleed, she had to bite back a grin.

"So…how did it go?" Jinx asked.

"Don't ask," Hazel said. "Looks like I'm gonna have to think of a plan B."

 **Kinda bad timing, I know, what with Kermit and Piggy being all…you know. But hang on in there guys, I know they're gonna get back together!**


	4. Step 4: Try, Try Again

"Hello," Hazel said.

"Mm," was the only reply she got.

The boy she was talking to was a pig. You would've thought that Hazel would have learnt from last time, but she wasn't the smartest cat around.

The pig refused to look up from his drawing.

"I'm Hazel," Hazel said.

"Mm."

"What are you doing?"

"Sketching."

"Oh. Well that's very…" Hazel wasn't very good with words. "So what's your name?"

"Look, don't you think it's kinda bad that you asked my Dad out, and now you're asking me out?"

"What?"

"I'm Axel," the pig said. "Kermit's kid. And no matter how desperate you are, to get a boyfriend. I'm not interested."

"Wait, how did you know about what happened with me and Kermit this morning?" Hazel asked. "Have you been spying on me?"

"Spying? Oh no. I don't need to spy on people; I have a little sister to do that for me."

"So…you won't go out with me?"

Axel sighed. "No! Now shove off!"

"Do you already have a girlfriend?"

"As a matter of fact, yes I do."

"Well, then you can give me advice!"

"Advice?" Axel sighed. "If I don't, you won't leave me alone, right?"

"You got it!"

"Well, one thing you're doing wrong is, you're trying too hard."

" _Trying_ too _hard_?"

Hazel didn't understand. How can you try _too_ hard?

"Yes. You can't force love; it'll end up a mess. Just wait till your time comes."

"I can't _wait_! I'm impatient! I want a boyfriend NOW!"

Axel sighed. "Oh boy. So, you'd rather rush and have a fake relationship, than wait and have a real one?"

"What does that mean?"

"You're going to run around asking out every Tom, Dick and Harry?"

"Yuh-huh."

"Good luck."


	5. Step 5: Don't Give Up!

And so, the cycle continued.

Hazel found a guy, had a failed attempt at flirting with him, got rejected, asked him for dating advice, and then didn't take the advice.

Hazel's mission was going nowhere.

~::~

"This is hopeless, Ebony," Hazel said, downheartedly to her cousin, after being rejected for about the fifth time.

"Aw, Hazel, it's not like you to give up on something!" Ebony said. "What's up, eh?"

Hazel sighed. "I'm trying to get a boyfriend. But everyone's too dumb, or weird or…taken."

"Afraid I can't help you there," Ebony said. "But keep trying, little cuz!"

"Haven't you ever dated someone, Ebony?"

"Sadly not."

"Do…you have a crush on someone?"

"Yeah. But he doesn't even know I exist."

" _He_?" Hazel repeated, getting distracted suddenly.

"Yeah," Ebony said. "…didn't I tell you? Pretty sure I told you."

"You're gay?"

"Yep. Well…I think so. When I told Jinx, she just laughed, like I wasn't serious. Am I serious? I don't know."

"So who do you fancy?" Hazel said, curiously.

But Ebony shook his head. "I couldn't possibly tell you. You'd think I was reeeally weird."

"No I wouldn't! Go on, tell me!"

"Alright, I'll give you a clue. Think bones. Think paws and floppy ears. Think…chasing your tail."

"A dog?" Hazel cried. "You have a crush on a dog?!"

"Shh!" Ebony demanded. "It's a secret, you can't tell anyone."

Hazel mimed zipping up her lips, but her eyes still flashed with curiosity, a sneaky grin growing on her face.

Ebony sighed. "How much do I have to pay you for this secret to not get out?"

"Twenty quid!"

"Two pounds and a chocolate bar."

"Done."

"You know," Ebony said. "For a uni student, you still act like a kid."

"You should see my roommates, we're all like this. Anyway, thanks for the advice cuz, I'm off!"

As Ebony watched his cousin go, he wondered how safely she would keep his secret.

Most likely, it would be known across the globe by the end of the week.


	6. Step 6: Distractions, Distractions

"Push off you creep!" Robin snapped.

"No wait, I didn't mean it like that!" Hazel defended, running after him. "Come back, I'm sorry!"

"Look, even if I did date girls – which I don't – I wouldn't date _you_ if you were the last girl on Earth. Now leave me alone!"

Hazel watched Robin leave, knowing there was nothing she could do about it. She scowled. _What a loser_.

"That's gotta be your, what, eighth?" came a voice from above Hazel's head. "In _two days_?"

"Tenth," Hazel corrected. She looked up, and saw a guy with sticky-up brown hair standing on a balcony. "Wait, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Walter. You're Jinx's cousin, right? Hazel?"

Hazel nodded.

Walter had a keen, curious look in his eyes. Hazel thought he was so-o-o cute.

He walked down the steps, and sat next to her on the crate.

"I've been watching you running around trying to get a boyfriend," he said with a little laugh.

Hazel blushed under her creamy-white fur. "You saw that?"

"Don't worry," Walter said. "I can help you."

He took hold of Hazel's hand, and Hazel felt a smile grow on her face.

" _Define help_ ," a frosty voice came from the door.

Walter and Hazel looked up.

Jinx.

Abruptly, Walter dropped Hazel's hand.

"Hi cuz," Hazel said, oblivious to dangerous territory. "What's…what's…? Say is something wrong?"

Hazel's cheery mood vanished instantly as she saw the seething look on her cousin's face.

Jinx said nothing as she silently marched across the room, picked Hazel up by her neck, and threw her onto the floor.

"What the heck do you think you're doing messing around with my boyfriend?!" she shrieked.

"B-boyfriend?" Hazel repeated.

"Yes, 'buh-boyfriend'. And I bet you set up this whole stupid boyfriend-hunt thing just to split us up, didn't you? To get your paws all over what's not yours. You filthy lying cheat."

Jinx gave her cousin a kick in the stomach.

"And as for you," she said, turning to face Walter.

And yet, she didn't say anything to her (not-for-long)-boyfriend. It was as if she'd taken all of her anger out on Hazel. Jinx just stared, and it was plain to see the disappointment in her eyes.

"I trusted you. Guess I'm the fool here."

Jinx wanted to cry, and yet her pride wouldn't let her. Instead, she turned on her heel and marched out.


	7. Step 7: Patch Things Up?

"Me and my big mouth," Walter muttered to himself. "Hazel, are you alright?"

Hazel picked herself up off the floor. She was a little bruised, but was more hurt about what Jinx had _said_.

And it was Hazel's fault.

"It was my fault," Hazel admitted. "We've got to go after her, at least _try_ to talk some sense into her!"

"You're right," Walter said. "Come on!"

~::~

However, on their way, Hazel and Walter were ambushed by another cat, and he didn't look happy.

"What have you done to my sister?" Ebony demanded. "Jinx says you cheated on her! Is that true?"

"No! Of course not," Walter defended. "Look, it's a misunderstanding. I need to talk to her."

"Listen, buddy," Ebony snarled. "I'm usually a really peaceful guy, but if you hurt my sister, I'll…"

His voice trailed into silence, as he saw who was standing by Walter's side.

"Hazel?" He looked back and fourth between Hazel and Walter. "Poor choice, mate," he said coldly.

"It's not like that!" Hazel insisted. "Walter and I just need to explain to Jinx, that-"

"Not a chance," Ebony interrupted. "You're coming with me."

So Ebony dragged Hazel away, despite her protests. Walter would've stopped Ebony, but as Jinx's boyfriend (or ex, now), he felt it was his responsibility to patch things up.

~::~

Jinx was alone. She was curled up in a ball in the corner of her room. It was only now that she was by herself, that she allowed the tears to come.

How could Walter have done this? Jinx thought that she could trust him, he didn't seem like a cheater, he was honest and kind and loyal.

Apparently not.

It was amazing how much could change in less than five minutes.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Go away," Jinx said immediately, her voice thick from crying.

Walter poked his head around the door. "Jinx, please let me explain-"

But Jinx wasn't having it.

" _You_ again?" she spat, disgusted. "Can't you take a hint? We're _through_. I don't want to see your face again, you lying cheat!"

"Jinx, you've got it all wrong, Hazel and I were just-"

Walter was trying desperately to get his word in, but Jinx just stuck her fingers in her ears and stubbornly went 'La, la, la!'

Walter sighed.

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry," he said. "Really, really sorry."

"You should be," Jinx said.

She tugged at the bracelet Walter gave her on her birthday, until suddenly the chain snapped, and she threw it in his face.

"Get out."

"Jinx, _please_ , don't-"

"Get OUT!"

Jinx extended her claws, and gave her ex a scratch on the chin.

It was only a small cut, but it was enough to make Walter sigh, and begrudgingly leave the room.

It was no use.

It was hopeless.

Their relationship was as broken as the destroyed bracelet Walter was still clutching.


	8. Step 8: Wallow in Self-Pity

"Did it work, then?" Hazel asked.

"What do you think?" Walter replied miserably, holding up the shattered bracelet, and pointing to the scratch on his chin.

It was a pretty stupid question, considering that Walter was curled into a ball, looking fed-up, and trying hard not to cry.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Walter whispered to himself miserably.

He couldn't blame Jinx for thinking what she thought, and doing what she did as a result. It sure looked bad. OK, so he should've kept his distance from Hazel, but he truly didn't think anything like this would happen! He wasn't a cheater!

He wasn't!

…was he?

"Aw, don't feel bad, buddy," Hazel said.

"Don't feel bad? Jinx hates me! She thinks I'm a lying cheat, and I know it won't be long before that gets spread around the whole theatre. I hate myself."

"Don't-"

"What do you know?" Walter snapped angrily. "You're the one who got me in this mess in the first place."

But the truth was, Walter wasn't mad at Hazel, he wasn't much of a hater. He didn't hate Hazel or Jinx or Ebony or anyone. The only person he hated was himself.

He could feel tears pricking his eyes. "I love her," is all he said. "I really do."

Not that Hazel could possibly understand. She chose her boyfriends like she chose her dresses, and to her, losing love was like losing yet another shoe – sad but oh, well.

Walter hugged his knees, and buried his face in his lap.

"Walter?" Hazel said, uncertainly.

No reply.

"I…" She gave a little laugh, though there was no humour in the situation. "You're making me feel _really_ bad."

 _You should._ Walter wanted to say, but he didn't quite dare.

"Maybe if we-"

"I think it would be best if we stopped talking to each other," Walter cut in.

Hazel blinked. "You're kidding!"

"I'm not. It's just…we've already caused one problem by being together, I don't want it to happen again."

"But-"

"Just _go_ , Hazel."

Hazel scowled. "Fine!" She turned on her heel and marched out.

Walter wasn't exactly happy to see her go, but he didn't feel any deep sorrow in knowing that he had lost a friend in his ex's cousin.

On her way out, Hazel nearly collided with someone she knew lurking in the doorway.

It was Kermit.

Hazel blushed, remembering her failed attempt at flirting with him, and rushed out of the room.

Kermit looked at Walter and gave a sympathetic grin.

"Hi."

Walter glanced up, and after seeing Kermit, felt a sense of dread. Had the rumours started already?

"Have you heard what happened?" Walter asked.

Kermit nodded. "Well…I'm not sure I've heard the _whole_ story."

"I didn't…I mean it wasn't my fault…I mean I only wanted to…and Jinx…and now…I…"

Walter was in such a desperate state to get his point across, that his words got jumbled up, and he couldn't form proper sentences.

"Woah! Calm down, Walter, listen. I _heard_ about you cheating on Jinx, but I didn't believe it for a minute."

"You…you believe me? You don't think I'm a lying cheat?"

"I'd never think that of you."

"Jinx does."

The small joy in knowing that his best friend didn't hate him was engulfed by a great sorrow for his ex.

"I…I need to fix things. It's a mess and I need to fix it. But…she won't listen to me. I don't know what else to do."

Kermit didn't want to admit that he had no idea either. Instead, he came into the room, and sat next to Walter, putting an arm around him.

"I've really wreaked it, haven't I?" Walter said. "Just think! All those years, and now it's all in pieces because of a _stupid_ mistake. It's such a mess!" He was struggling to speak through his tears. "I miss her. I'm nothing without her. I…I want her back."

"I know."

Kermit had never seen his usually happy friend so down-hearted.

"Walter, I…I guess I could talk to her?" Kermit said.

Walter glanced at him. "Could you? I mean, would she listen to you? She gets pretty stubborn when she's upset."

"We could try."

"Yeah, yeah we could. Thanks, Kermit, you're…you're the best."

"Hey, anything to get a smile out of you."

In truth, even though his heart was still hurting, Walter was smiling, because he knew that through the wreck, there was still hope.

Things could still turn out OK…couldn't they?


	9. Step 9: Don't Give In To The Enemy

"Knock, knock," Kermit's voice came from the doorway to Jinx's room.

"I'm _not_ in the mood for one of Fozzie's bad knock, knock jokes," Jinx replied.

Jinx was sat similarly to how Walter was when Kermit had seen him, but Jinx didn't look as upset, she looked flaming angry.

"Thought not," Kermit said, inviting himself in and sitting down next to Jinx. "I just want to know what happened with you and Walter."

"Isn't it obvious?" Jinx sneered. "He cheated on me!"

She sighed, and for a moment, she didn't look so scary, just lost and hurting.

"I…I never saw it coming. I didn't think he was a cheater, he's…well he was amazing."

"Are you _sure_ he cheated on you?"

"Of course I'm sure! Don't act like you don't know about it, even if you weren't there to see it, the rumours spread around like a wildfire."

"He says it's a misunderstanding."

"So he _still_ won't own up to it?" Jinx's anger began to grow again, consuming every part of her sorrow. "He's such a _coward_!" She brought a fist up, and punched the wall. It hurt quite a lot, but she refused to complain.

Kermit was trying hard to stay calm. He had seen Jinx's rage before, and knew exactly how to deal with it.

"Look, Jinx, whether it was a mistake or not," Kermit said. "He feels _really_ bad about it."

"Good."

"He says it's not his fault."

"Well whose fault is it then? Hazel's, I suppose. How I'd like to rip off her ears and tail and shove them down her throat."

Kermit blinked, a little taken aback. Jinx saw his expression, and her anger evaporated.

"Sorry, Kermit, I just…it's not a good time. I'm pretty angry about this whole situation."

"It's OK, I know. But Jinx?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you…could you give Walter another chance?"

His words felt like a stab in the back. She immediately went back to being cold and closed-off.

"He doesn't deserve one."

"But, Jinx, he only-"

"He's a CHEATER!" Jinx interrupted.

She couldn't believe she nearly trusted this guy. It was obvious that he was on Walter's side, and who sides with a cheater? The enemy, that's who.

"He doesn't deserve any chances," Jinx said. "Now get _out_ of my room, before I throw you out."

"Jinx, please, you're being really-"

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Kermit jumped up, and backed out of the room, looking a little afraid at this outburst. As soon as he had shut the door behind him, Jinx felt a stab of pain and regret in her heart.

Was she going to keep doing this, she wondered. Pushing people away? Pretty soon there'll be no-one left.

No! She did the right thing.

…right?

It was only because he was on Walter's side.

Walter.

The name brought tears of longing to Jinx's eyes.

Why?

How could he have done this?

 _Walter…I miss you. I'm nothing without you. I…I love you._


	10. Step 10: You Have To Do Something!

Thwack.

Thud.

After Ebony had found out about what Hazel had done, he had taken immediate action, dragging her away and locking her inside the nearest room.

Thump.

Hazel watched hopefully as the door rattled slightly on its hinges, but it stayed firm.

"Give up, Hazel," Ebony's voice came from the other side of the door. "I'm not unlocking this door."

"Let me _out_!" Hazel demanded. "I caused the problem, so I have to fix it!"

 _Trust her to say that_ Ebony thought.

"Hate to break this to you, but I honestly don't think you can solve the problem without making more of a mess."

"That's not _true_!"

Hazel once again, brought her shoulder crashing into the locked door.

"Easy, Hazel, you're going to dislocate your shoulder," Ebony said. "Listen, you've got two choices. Either you calm down and I let you out, so long as you promise to go straight home and not come back until this has blown over, or, you stay locked in here."

Another thump at the door gave Ebony his answer.

"Stay in there it is."

"You can't do this! You can't tell me what to do!"

"I think you'll find I can." A sudden thought made Ebony laugh to himself. "Well this is one way of making sure my secret about being gay doesn't get out."

"What will my Mummy and Daddy say about this? You'll be for it, Ebony!"

"No, _you'll_ be for it, when I tell them how you mucked around with Jinx's boyfriend."

"I didn't! It's a mistake! Walter and I are only friends, I swear!"

Hazel, unlike Walter, felt absolutely no guilt for what had happened. It wasn't her fault, after all.

She did, however, have a feeling of frustration. Why did everyone have to blame her? If they had just shut up and listened to her, none of this would've escalated into the huge problem that it was now.

There was an eerie silence.

"Ebony? Are you still there?"

Still nothing.

"Ebony? If this is a trick, then it isn't funny!"

In truth, Ebony had got bored of waiting outside a locked door, and had sneaked off.

"Damn you, cuz!"


	11. Step 11: The Great Escape!

_Walter, r u there?_

Hazel fired off a text, and waited anxiously for the reply.

 _I'm here, as always_ came the reply.

 _How's J?_

 _Not great. She still won't speak to anyone_

His message was followed by three crying emojis

 _Cheer up buddy,_ Hazel typed. _Listen, I've got a plan, but I'm going to need your help._

There was no reply, so Hazel continued.

 _Ebony's got me locked in a spare room, so I'm gonna need u to get the keys off him. Then we can work together to fix the problem with Jinx._

There was no reply for a long time.

 _Walt? Still there?_

 _You really think that Ebony's just going to give me the keys? Hazel, hasn't it occurred to you that you're locked up for a reason? You did a bad thing._

 _It wasn't that bad._

 _Yes it was! Look, just stay in that room, you're only going to make things worse if you interfere again._

 _I am not! And besides, I'm not staying in here, it smells funny!_

There was no reply.

 _Walter? Can't you get me out of here?_

Still nothing.

"He's gone!" Hazel declared, throwing her phone down in annoyance. "Well if he's not going to get me out of here, then I guess I'll have to escape by myself."

She looked around. The place had a door and two windows, the walls were painted a pale orange colour, and the furniture was scarce.

Wait a minute, the window! One of them was tiny, but the other one might just be big enough for her to be able to fit through…

Hazel managed to slide the window open as far as it would go, and clambered onto the window-ledge without knocking _too_ many things over.

 _This is it_ she thought

But looking down, she realised that she was pretty high-up. Surely it would be dangerous to try something as crazy as jumping out of the window? Sighing, Hazel was about to turn back, when suddenly she lost her footing and fell.

Flailing her arms madly, Hazel screamed as she went head over heels, plummeting to the Earth.

~::~

The next thing Hazel remembered was waking up in a place that smelt _really_ bad. As she rubbed her face, she found that there was a potato peeling stuck to her face. Was she in the back of a garbage truck? Well at least she was alive after that fall she was so sure she was going to die from.

Pity that now she looked like rubbish (literally) and smelt even worse.

Wait…she was free! She was no longer locked in that room; she could do what she wanted!

Including, putting her final plan into action to try and make the unhappy couple, the happy couple once again.


	12. Step 12: I Have A Plan!

_Dear Walter,_

 _I'm sooooo sorry. I was unreasonable, I was a jerk, I really hope that you can forgive me for being so horrible._

 _Meet me tomorrow at 3?_

 _I love you_

 _Jinx_

Nice letter, very sweet. Just a pity that Jinx didn't write it. Hazel did. It was all a set up. But Walter didn't need to know that! He was over the moon when he received the letter. However, the same tactic wasn't going to work on stubborn old Jinx. Hazel was going to have to think of something much smarter.

~::~

"Ji-i-i-i-i-nx!" Hazel called, making sure to use that awful, whiney voice that you just can't ignore.

"What?" snapped the unpleasant reply.

"Can you help me with something?"

"No."

"Ple-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-"

"ALRIGHT! Alright, I'm coming."

Hazel grinned to herself. It was five minutes to three, Walter was due to come in five minutes, and Jinx was already on her way.

The plan was set.

~::~

Walter skipped over to the place he and Jinx had agreed to meet with a big grin on his face. He was so happy that Jinx was giving him another chance, even though he had messed up – big time.

He entered the room, and there she was. Standing in the corner with her back to him, Jinx seemed to be reading something and looked bored out of her mind.

"Uh…hi, Jinx," Walter said, suddenly kinda shy.

Jinx turned, but when she saw who it was, she grunted and turned away again.

"I got your letter," Walter went on.

"Letter?" Jinx said. "I never sent a letter."

Walter frowned and took the letter out from his breast pocket (he liked it to be close to his heart).

"It _said_ it was from you."

Jinx snatched the paper and peered at it.

"This is…"

Cheesy? Annoying? Grovelling? Gross? Stupid?

None of which rang true. The way the words were written on the page hit a little close to home.

She couldn't pour scorn on the truth.

She scrunched the paper into a ball and dropped it on the floor.

"I didn't write it."

Walter said nothing.

"Got nothing to say?" Jinx said. "Fine. If that's the only reason you're here, then I'm leaving."

Jinx seized the door handle, and yanked it hard. But it didn't move!

"We're locked in!"

"You're joking," Walter said, and tried the door himself.

But it was no use, the door wouldn't budge.


	13. Step 13: All's Well That Ends Well

Jinx wanted to shout and scream and throw things about. It was clear that Hazel had set her up.

But she did none of these things.

Instead, she picked up the letter, unscrunched it, and read it through again. She didn't write it, but it was as if she had. It said everything she wanted to say, but daren't.

She sighed. "Why do I do this, Walter?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Shut people out; refuse them any kind of second chance. They always said I was stubborn, I guess they were right."

Walter pricked up his ears, this sounded interesting.

"There really wasn't anything going on between you and Hazel?" Jinx went on.

"Nothing at all," Walter confirmed.

Jinx sighed. She took a deep breath, plucked up all her courage, and said it.

"I'm sorry. I'm…really sorry."

She glanced up, but Walter didn't say anything.

"I was unreasonable, I was irrational, I…I should've listened to you, Walter, but I just shut you out. Can…can you forgive me?"

A smile slowly formed on Walter's face.

"Of course I can forgive you," he said. "I understand why you did what you did, but I swear there was nothing going on between me and Hazel. I…I can't believe you're giving me a second chance…I've…I've really missed you."

Jinx wasn't usually one for crying in front of people, but when she heard those words, she allowed herself an exception. She threw her arms around Walter's neck and wept – just pure joy of having him back in her life, and knowing that no matter what she'd done, he hadn't given up.

~::~

Walter and Jinx were so caught up in each other, that they didn't hear the clunk of a key in the lock, and the creak of the old door opening.

Hazel saw the two of them sharing a kiss, and grinned to herself.

"I see you two have made up, then," she said, a little smugly.

Jinx nearly jumped out of her skin!

Walter grinned when he saw Hazel. Technically, she was the reason the whole thing had started, but he was too happy to be mad at her – she was hard to hate for long.

"I'm so glad this crazy drama is finally over," he said.

"And it's thanks to you, Hazel," Jinx said. "You silly ball of white fur. Come here!"

Jinx somehow managed to get her squirming little cousin into a headlock and started to ruffle her fur annoyingly.

"Ow! Jinx, don't…ow! Get off, will you? That hurts! Ow!" Hazel complained.

Eventually, Hazel managed to wriggle out of Jinx's grasp, trying to uphold as much dignity as possible (which wasn't very much).

"I suppose if you two have apologised," she said. "Then I guess it's my turn. Jinx, I'm sorry I messed about with your boyfriend and caused you to get jealous. I guess I fancied him a _little_ , but if I'd have known he was your boyfriend, I would've steered clear. And Walter, I'm sorry I begged for your help in finding a boyfriend. Looking back, I can see that this whole disaster was my fault. And finally…I'm sorry I locked you two in! It's just, I had to do _some_ thing, and that was all I could think of."

Walter laughed at the last bit. "That's alright. Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah," Jinx agreed, slinging an arm around Hazel's shoulders. "Your plan was crazy, reckless and stupid…but it worked, didn't it?"


End file.
